Wizzair

[KT1988]

@2unlimited: Well I believe you talk from a pilot based in UK perspective and then I can understand that maybe while living in UK and being employed as a company means bending the law. I thought about Wizz Air pilots based in Poland and I believe the Switzerland thing is for people based in nations where being employed as company is not legal. Because in Poland both LOT and Ryan Air do it the way I described with no Switzerland involved so I do think Wizz Air would not wish to create a complicated scheme for something that is totally legal in Poland and do not require a Swiss contract. As for the pilots employed in UK, Germany and France I believe they prefer to be employees than being employed as a company because of the benefits you talk about. But here I was talking about Polish pilots with bases in Poland who like living in their homeland and between them you will really find very few who wish to not be self employed and pay 32 % tax. I have not heard any instructor flying for the airlines say he would rather pay more tax and not get any extra benefit from the state. So what is popular in UK does not have to be popular in Poland and Wizz Air got most bases in the Eastern Europe.

As for SAS salaries the last I heard was that captain salary is about 1.000.000 NOK brutto and that converted is about 105 250 Euro, maybe they got something extra recently since salaries everywhere are improving. As for the housing I believe you are back in 1990s if you say homes in Poland do not get heating or electricity and that the government control it, you would really struggle to get a house in Norway for 700 000 Euro with the standard of a Polish house for 300 000 Euro. I do not know if its allowed to post links on the forum but I can PM you a link to luxury houses in Poland for 300 000 Euro that you will not find for 700 000 Euro in Norway for example. Of course Germany and France is a totally different case there maybe the Wizz Air offer would not be money wise attractive but the Ryan Air one from Poland well some captains get a really nice netto salary in Poland, you would have to get Lufthansa or KLM etc. to beat that after tax and how many spots (especially for captains I read some wait like 10-20 years to become captain there) are there at legacy carriers? Oh and I hope no one find this post polluting the topic because its definitely relevant for terms and conditions where you are going to get a base, what you will pay in tax and what cost of living you will have. Its also relevant for pilots to know I believe that they do not risk housing with no electricity and heating if they get a base in Poland unless they rent a shack in the middle of a forest.

PS. From what I heard in Poland for those who dream about great salaries the dream is rather Emirates (personally I would not wish to live in Dubai just to get more money (only the wide-body aircraft would be tempting), if I could choose freely then 787 at LOT would be perfect for my dreams (but I will really enjoy any aircraft at any airline), so I understand your Cluj example) than Lufthansa or KLM, so I believe there are differences between where pilots originate from that shape their beliefs or expectations.